Today's Thomas Take: 2012

12.31.12 - Life is Good

Happy New Years Eve! In true mom fashion I spent the last 3 hours of 2012 sleeping and the first 2 hours of 2013 awake with a newborn...life is good.

12.30.12 - Getting Big

Even though she is still a little peanut, she is definitely growing. We had to move the straps up in her carseat today. They grow so fast!

Corey often gets frustrated playing me in cards because I usually win. Now I think we finally have found a game that we are evenly matched. We played three games the other night and we each have a win, a loss, and a tie. Let the competitions begin.

12.28.12 - 1 Month Old

I can't believe it has already been an entire month since this little sweetie entered the world. We love her so much!!!!

12.27.12 - Wonderful Gift

Keeping the blog up-to-date will be so much easier with this wonderful gift. Thanks Corey!

12.26.12 - Family Christmas Take 2

Today we got to celebrate Christmas with the second half of our wonderful family. Watching the excitement that kids have is priceless!

12.25.12 - Merry Christmas

This is one of our first family photos and Mara's first Christmas.

Also, we celebrated Christmas with half of the family today. We just can't get enough of these little ones!

12.24.12 - First Time in a Baby Carrier

Due to her small size, we hadn't used the baby carrier yet. Today was her first time and she seemed to really like it. Even though she is secure in it, I have a hard time not supporting her with my arms as well.

12.23.12 - Someone Found Her Thumb

Mara found their thumb today for the first time. She didn't hold onto it very long but she did find it for a minute.

12.22.12 - A Thoughtful Gift

This was a gift from my homeroom. It turns out that they were planning on having a little shower for me but didn't have time to since Mara was two weeks early. Each of the squares has a message or a picture from a different student and I found myself laughing (and almost crying) as I looked at each of them. I love being a middle school teacher and am lucky to have such great kids!

12.21.12 - Craft Time

My task for the day (between taking care of my sweet girl of course) was to complete these button letters for her room. They turned out just like I wanted them to!

12.20.12 - Getting Stronger

Mara still isn't the biggest fan of tummy time but she is getting better at it.

12.19.12 - & Baby Makes Three

Three stockings hung by the fireplace to represent the three weeks that Mara has made us a family of three.

12.18.12 - Jealous One

Kenzie has always had trust issues which makes her not much of a snuggler. She has always been willing to be next to you but she has never been a "lap dog." However, since Mara has been in the picture, we have noticed a little change in our first baby girl. This picture shows her crawling and laying across my lap between Mara and me in order to get some attention. Mara doesn't look very pleased with our furry friend.

12.17.12 - First Bath in the Tub

Today was Mara's first bath in a bathtub. She still doesn't like being cold but I think she will come to love bath time.

12.16.12 - Baby Lounger

Today was the first day we gave the baby lounger a try. As you can see, she fell fast asleep. Success!

12.15.12 - Mara Meets Some of Vanguard

Tonight we had a wonderful meal planned and prepared for us by some of my middle school team. I am so thankful to work with such wonderful people! Also, our Christmas tree is starting to be taken over by Mara ornaments. One from Grandma Gayle and one from a super sweetheart of a student of mine. I can't wait for our tree to be full of ornaments made by our little angel!

12.14.12 - 46 Days

I am loving being home with my little sweetie but it melted my heart to see this written on the board in my classroom when I stopped in to grab something this week. This is proof that middle schoolers don't always deserve the bad reputation they sometimes get.

12.13.12 - "Auntie Says I'm Super Cute"

In honor of meeting her Aunt Nancy today, Mara wore an outfit given to her by her Aunt Bethany. I think all her aunts would agree with what it says...I know her mama does!

12.12.12 - Mara's Due Date

Since May this day has been on my mind due to the fact that it was our intended due date. It has been fun telling people we were due on 12.12.12 and it would have been cool to have her today, but I wouldn't trade the last two weeks with Mara for anything! Here are some pictures from throughout the pregnancy. The last photo we took minutes before walking out the door to go to the hospital to be induced. Even a small belly doesn't completely fit in the frame!

12.11.12 - A Little Perspective

Everyday I think she is getting bigger but then today I noticed that her entire foot was just about the same length as my thumb! She really is a 'little peanut!'

12.10.12 - Cashed Out

Corey went back to work today which means he was craving some Mara snuggle time when he got home. It looks like she missed her daddy too. A match made in heaven!

12.9.12 - Mara's First Book

Corey is such a good daddy! He is very attentive to the needs of both his wife and daughter. Today I came into the living room to find him reading to Mara. I couldn't help but snap a couple pictures of how cute they were. Tomorrow is going to be hard for him...it will be his first day back to work and away from his adorable daughter.

12.8.12 - Waking Up To Snow...As is Tradition

I was so excited when I woke up this morning to see a light covering of snow. I am one of those crazy people that loves snow and I am always overjoyed with the first snowfall of the year that covers the ground. And the fact that it happened on December 8th is really no surprise. You see, today is the anniversary of my grandmother passing away but it seems like every year on this date we have fresh snow. Since she passed away I have always thought of this yearly occurrence as a special gift from her.

12.7.12 - Cousin Jalen Finally Holds Mara

Jalen has been so excited the entire time I have been pregnant to meet his cousin. He would talk to me about it all of the time and would ask to feel her moving whenever we were around. The smile on his face when he came to the hospital to meet her for the first time was priceless. Immediately upon entering our room, he rolled up his sleeves and announced that he needed to wash his hands. He was a little disappointed that his mother wouldn't let him hold her without her help and kept asking to hold her again. Tonight we let him hold her (while sticking very close) for the first time on his own. It was so cute watching him study her intensely. He is going to be such a good older cousin since Mara doesn't have an older brother.

12.6.12 - Mara Meets the Goodwill Team

Today Mara met some people from Daddy's work for the first time. They brought us lunch and the gifts from the baby shower that we weren't able to attend due to the fact that it took place at almost the exact same time as her birth.

12.5.12 - 1 Week Old Today!

As I post this I realize that we just passed 5:42 pm. This means that Mara is officially 1 week old. It is hard to believe that something so new can became such an important and loved part of your life.

12.4.12 - Sleeping Like a Champ

Due to her small size, we need to make sure our little one is eating in regular, short intervals. To help with this I set an alarm to go off every few hours through the night. Today I accidentally forgot to adjust it when I laid Mara down after her last morning feeding. Corey and I were in the kitchen eating breakfast when we heard this terribly loud sound coming through the baby monitor...the alarm was blaring just a few feet from where she was sleeping. When we ran into the room to turn it off we found her as you see in this post, still sound asleep. I am so thankful that she is such a good sleeper. Let's pray that this continues. Keep your fingers crossed folks!